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02 Apr 2013, 05:23

Alright friends, looking for some help. I am thrilled to have a options but am looking for new perspectives on choosing between Tepper and McDonough beginning in the fall...

A little bit of background:Chem Eng undergradI have been working within the engineering field in DC for the past 3 years, and would like to transition into a stategy consulting role (perferably in the DC area).

The location of McDonough is great due to my desire to work in DC post MBA. The accessibility to the firms within the city should aid in my ability to form networks. I also really appreciate the emphasis put on international business. While I understand that some McDonough graduates have placed in the top consulting firms in the past few years, will the ranking/MBA brand affect job prospects?

Tepper is ranked higher and has better brand recognition which could lead to increased job opportunities. I am really interested in the curriculum/concentrations offered and the ability to tailor electives to fit my career goals. Pittsburgh is a great city too.

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02 Apr 2013, 06:14

If DC is the place you want to work Georgetown is your best bet. Yes Tepper is ranked higher but at the end you have to consider the network you will have in DC vs. the higher prestige of Tepper. I would go with Georgetown personally, but you should attend the Welcome Weekends and see how you like them, they might be completely different cultures. Also I would recommend talking to the Career Center and ask them about the students landing in the top consulting firms in DC.

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02 Apr 2013, 07:54

On the surface it's easy to say Georgetown ==> DC, but looking at the latest employment report only a little over 30% of graduates are placed in the Mid-Atlantic region, and it's unclear as to how many of those students stay in DC. In other words, Georgetown is not like Anderson or Stern where an overwhelmingly large number place in LA and New York, respectively.

I think in this case the added Tepper prestige can open more doors and you shouldn't have a problem recruiting for the DC area.
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02 Apr 2013, 08:33

I'd go with McDonough... they place pretty well into federal govt consulting at Deloitte, BoozAllen and BCG, among others and the Georgetown name alone raises eyebrows in DC. However, if you'd like to consult for the private sector, I'd go with Tepper.

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I would look at the hard numbers as sometimes Career Center is useless at schools for your particular field/area or your target set of companies.

Having said that, your career goals will most likely change during the MBA (most people change theirs) and you will fall in love with an industry while hating something else, so a better ranked school with better placements is always better than the not-so-well ranked.

As suggested, the admit weekends should give an idea (though it wont' be a perfect picture) about the school, spirit, culture, environment, and location.

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02 Apr 2013, 13:37

Thanks for the feedback.

Luckily the welcome weekend schedule worked out great for both schools and are on back to back weekends. I am definitely hoping to use this experience to see how I "fit" at each school to help come to a decision.

Weighing the prestige of one school with the networking/location of another is proving to be quite difficult.